Commentary on Acts of the Apostles · Matthew Henry

051 - Acts 1342-52

·41 min

1. Commentary on Acts of the Apostles follows Acts 13:42-52, focusing on Paul and Barnabas in Antioch after the synagogue sermon. 2. The speaker is a Bible commentator who walks through Acts 13 and Romans 11 to explain Paul’s conduct and the Jews’ response. 3. The episode asks why the gospel moved from the Jews to the Gentiles in Antioch and how Paul justified that shift. 4. Some Jews “went out of the synagogue while Paul was preaching” in verse 42, and the commentary calls that an open and obstinate rejection. 5. The Gentiles asked that the same message be preached to them “the next Sabbath,” which the commentary treats as a direct invitation. 6. Paul and Barnabas welcomed Jews and proselytes who “followed” them and were urged to “continue in the grace of God.” 7. Verse 44 brings “almost the whole city” to the synagogue, with the commentary noting curiosity, interest, and the appeal of the word of God. 8. The Jews reacted to the crowd with envy, contradiction, and “blaspheming,” according to the commentary’s reading of verse 45. 9. Paul and Barnabas then say, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you,” and the commentary links that to Luke 24:47 and Mark 7. 10. Their next declaration is, “lo, we turn to the Gentiles,” which the commentary presents as a warranted response to refusal. 11. The line “I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles” is used to connect Acts 13 with Isaiah’s prophecy about salvation “unto the ends of the earth.” 12. The Gentiles “were glad” when they heard the offer, and the commentary says they welcomed a covenant path that did not require the ceremonial law. 13. They also “glorified the word of the Lord,” which the commentary explains as admiration for the gospel’s breadth and divine origin. 14. The sentence “as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed” becomes a major doctrinal point about faith and God’s grace. 15. The commentary says the word of the Lord was “published throughout all the region,” with new converts helping spread it beyond the city. 16. The unbelieving Jews then “raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas” and expelled them, using devout women and chief men of the city. 17. Paul and Barnabas “shook off the dust of their feet against them,” and the commentary treats that as a public testimony that the offer had been made. 18. The disciples were “filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost,” even after the apostles were driven out, and the commentary reads that as courage under pressure. 19. The style is verse-by-verse exposition with long doctrinal application, quotation of Scripture, and repeated explanation of phrases in Acts 13. 20. Anyone interested in Acts, Pauline mission, and Reformed commentary will get the most from this episode; listeners wanting a short, modern summary may skip it.

As heard by us

A grave, text-driven reading that follows rejection, self-judgment, and the commanded turn to the Gentiles.

This commentary is at its best when it lets Scripture answer Scripture. It follows the gospel as it goes first to the Jews, treats rejection as self-judgment, and shows the move toward the Gentiles as obedience to command rather than a change of plan.

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Why you'd press play

When the gospel is put from you, you follow the logic of the turn to the Gentiles.

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